10 gallon batch - and color/taste variation btw each carboy

Mashing
1

Hello,

Recently I have been making 10 gallon batches. Everything throughout the process is done in increments to yield 10 gallons of delicious Wort.

However, because I do not have a carboy large enough to ferment all 10 gallons I have been breaking it up into two 5 gallon glass carboys.

The first time I did this I noticed a huge difference in color between the first carboy and the second. The first 5 gallons was a beautiful golden color, similar to the last time I had made a 5 gallon batch of the same recipe. The second 5 gallons was a bit more dark bronze in color.

OG and FG of each were almost exactly the same. Upon finishing, there again the first 5 gallons retained its beautiful color had a nice white head, head retention, and exceptional taste. The second 5 gallons there again, a dirty bronze color, minimal head or retention and it lacked that killer taste of the first. Considering all 10 gallons came from the same boil kettle they were like night and day!

Since then, I have been breaking up the Wort in 1 gallon batches between two carboys in hopes of blending the 10 gallons or distributing its components more equally. Furthermore, when racking to secondary or keg, I have been using two racking canes and siphoning each carboy at the same rate to either the secondary or keg, there again in hopes that a simple blend of the two will create a better all around and similar product.

And now for my question: is what I am experiencing a common problem? And is my possible solution to the problem going to yield the same great beer 10 gallons across the board or now is all 10 gallons subject to the same potential undesirables?

2

I’ve seen this in my own brewing. Not sure what the cause, but probably has something to do with the settling of the wort in the brew pot after the heat is shut off. I just alternate the flow out of the chiller between my 2 carboys and don’t give it much thought.

3

When I do 11g batches my solution was to add a tee and fill two primaries at once. Hasn’t been a problem since.

4

It’s caused by uneven trub distribution, although I’m surprised that the final products were so different. At a guess, I think you need to rack from the fermenter a bit more carefully and/or add a cold-crash to your routine (prior to racking from the fermenter) to make sure that all the sediment is left behind in the fermenter and doesn’t make it to the bottle.

This is another situation where buckets are superior to carboys - with buckets, you can fill both and then stand there and pour them back and forth a couple of times to thoroughly mix the wort before pitching.